Joining Wolverhampton Wanderers just five days before their first Premier League match of 2023/24, Gary O’Neil should feel exceptionally proud of his eye-catching work this season.
Without the luxury of time that a pre-season offers a head coach to bed in new ideas, the 40-year-old chose to implement immediately a more adventurous style of play that excited supporters at Molineux.
Stamping his mark on the players, making tactical tweaks on the go as he learned more about his squad (while often playing two games a week) O’Neil’s work rate and attention to detail is worthy of admiration.
Spending most of this campaign around mid-table or above, his coaching has improved a team who had lost its way.
Revamping a squad that also lost a host of senior players last summer, including Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence and Matheus Nunes, is a task he has made look easy.
Goals have gone up
In an attacking sense, Wolves had been caught in a low-scoring rut for three years, registering only 36, 38 and 31 goals in the three seasons prior to O’Neil’s arrival.
Shifting the group’s mindset into a more positive one, the Englishman helped them eclipse all those totals before the end of February. Currently, they have scored 43 times with eight matches left to play.
Playing with greater energy is one factor behind the change.
His new midfield unit of Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina cover ground at a far more dynamic rate than predecessors Neves and Moutinho.
In the wing-back and attacking midfield areas, O’Neil has also given a license to his players to push forward at speed whenever they sense a chance to hurt the opposition.
This added "chaos" inside the final third has made them more dangerous to face.
The improved verticality and directness of their attacks can also be measured by the "Direct Speed" metric.
This season Wolves have progressed upfield in open play at a rate of 1.64m per second, compared with 1.25m per second in 2022/23.
Premeditated overloads
As with many head coaches, the identification of overload possibilities forms a large part of O’Neil’s tactical approach.
He studies the opposition looking for weaknesses, and on occasion that has paid off with goals.
The nature of their build-up to Axel Disasi’s own goal in their impressive 4-2 win at Chelsea for example, typifies the freedom O’Neil gives his players.
From a 3-4-2-1 base formation they draw left-back Ben Chilwell out to the ball from a long diagonal, with striker Pedro Neto pulling into Pablo Sarabia’s space and on to veteran centre-back Thiago Silva.
This 3v2 is a concern for Chelsea as Neto’s pace was always going to trouble the 39-year-old Brazilian.
At the top of the image (circled in white) is left wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri…
As Neto receives the pass and drives down the right to cut the ball back, Ait-Nouri arrives late between the central defenders – and ahead of Chelsea’s recovering midfielders – to get a shot away in another 3v2. The ball ricocheted off Disasi and into the net.
This was a well-thought-out goal that exposed the fragility of Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1 against their own shape.
Wolves also found a way to slice through O’Neil’s former side AFC Bournemouth with a pattern of play they had worked on ahead of kick-off.
Identifying a 4v3 set up when the Cherries went to press, angling his midfield pivots to play around them centrally in a 2v1…
From Lemina’s pass around the corner, Tommy Doyle was freed up to fizz a forward pass into Neto, who dropped into a half-space pocket away from a left back who was deliberately distracted by the advanced Matt Doherty to his left in a 2v1.
From Neto’s run, Matheus Cunha ending up finding the back of the net.
Tactically versatile
O’Neil began his tenure by deploying either a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1, and although performances were terrific, they struggled to stem the flow of chances created against them.
Finding better balance, Wolves’ shape soon morphed into a 3-4-2-1 and that has been their most successful formula.
The use of natural full-backs Toti Gomes or Hugo Bueno as left-sided central defenders, with Ait-Nouri outside him has added security and a better balance to the side.
Only injuries to key players – and Wolves have suffered plenty of those in recent months – have forced O’Neil to revert to a back four on occasion.
| Formations | Matches | Wins |
| 3-4-2-1 | 17 | 9 |
|---|---|---|
| 4-4-1-1 | 4 | 1 |
| 4-4-2 | 3 | 0 |
| 3-5-2 | 3 | 1 |
| 4-2-3-1 | 3 | 1 |
Another impressive aspect of O’Neil’s management is his strategic adaptability.
His team are comfortable in possession, winning five contests when boasting the majority of possession, including a 66.3 per cent share at Bournemouth and 63.5 per cent at home to Sheffield United.
With so much pace in the side they do enjoy space to run into, so O’Neil’s preferred style is to play on the counter.
Their standout wins home and away against Chelsea saw them average 33.6 per cent of possession across the two games, and they had 31.6 per cent in a shock success at home to Manchester City.
When prevailing 2-1 away to Tottenham Hotspur, they did so with just 28.8 per cent of the ball too, countering at speed superbly.
O’Neil is prepared to be pragmatic or expansive depending on the nature of the challenge in front of his side.
Improving individuals
Several players have made great strides since working with O’Neil.
Cunha is a standout improver, registering nine goals and six assists in a campaign where his skill and running power has been a focal point of the side.
Given trust by his head coach, the Brazilian forward looks a different player to the one who made minimal impact under Julen Lopetegui.
Hwang Hee-chan (10 goals) and Neto (9 assists) have also made terrific impressions, as has defensive midfielder Gomes, who has made the third-highest number of tackles (95) in the division, stamping his authority on opponents.
Wing back Ait-Nouri (four goals) is another player revelling in life under O'Neil, the former Portsmouth and West Ham United midfielder. Used as a left wing-back, a left-sided winger, and even as an inverted No 10 this season, the Algerian is playing with real confidence.
Seeing potential
O’Neil’s use of Lemina typifies his positivity and brightness as a coach.
Last season the ex-Southampton midfielder was considered a defensive midfielder, asked to sit and protect in front of the back four.
O’Neil views him as a box-to-box operator, urging him to join in with attacks and make runs into the box.
Lemina has had 28 shots (compared with five last season) and made 13 key passes (three last season), scoring four times.
As you can see on these two touch maps, the Gabonese star has reinvented himself under the new manager, without sacrificing the defensive side of his game.
When you consider the lack of preparation O’Neil had, and the catalogue of injuries to key forwards he has had to contend with, it has been a magnificent effort to keep Wolves in the hunt for a European place.
Studious, tactically sharp, full of fresh ideas (a strength that has helped them score 12 set-piece goals) and willing to alter the tactics game by game, O'Neil has proved to be an incredibly shrewd appointment.
Wolves’ current blend of aggression, adventure and pragmatism is a great fit for the club.
It is little wonder O’Neil - who kept Bournemouth up last season against the odds – is now being spoken about in such glowing terms.
He is undoubtedly one of English football’s most impressive young coaches.
